Thanksgiving. A day set aside to eat, share time with family and friends, eat, a time to pause and be thankful for all the good things in life, and eat. Nowadays, I think almost all Americans celebrate in one form or another. Even the homeless or less fortunate can find a place to have a hearty meal and spend a bit of time together with others on this day. This is a good thing, except for the gluttony and often resulting stomachache from overeating.
Back when I was a child, growing up in a rural area, Thanksgiving was mostly just another day. I don't recall ever having turkey along with a table full of special made foods. The meals served were common fare; the usual "breakfast, scrounge for snack for lunch, and dinner" type of day. The kids did enjoy the fact that school would be closed, though.
Oh yes, how could I forget the Macy's Day Parade? It was not considered a favorite by anyone in my family, but that was all we could squeeze out of the antenna, in those black/white television days. Still, to this day, I don't find much interest in it, unless I get a bit of nostalgia.
By todays standards, those days were bleak, but we didn't know it. For the most part, I think they were good days. Even so, I can recall a few frowns on Moms' face, but that was caused by rowdy kids being cooped-up in the house all day, when the weather was bad. Dad would even be home with us. That was a rarity, because he always worked, except on weekends. So, when we sat to eat the usual pinto(soup) beans, fried potatoes(taters), fried chicken, and cornbread/biscuits, we felt blessed. I remember looking around and seeing Moms' face. She had a relaxed, thankful expression. Perhaps, It was because she finally got to sit down, and saw us all together, well and happy. Or maybe, it was just because she knew it would soon be bedtime for the kids. I have often pondered that through the years.
When I grew up and began my own family, I always made a special meal with all the favorite foods on the table. There was always turkey or ham, and some years, I even cooked up both! Besides that, I always took the time to remember, and be thankful. I had came a long way from that simple table, with simple fare, but my parents had instilled in me that there were many other reasons to be thankful. Each year, when I'd finally sit down with my family at my own table, the reflections of the past reminded me; Thanksgiving Day should be more than just another day of gluttony.
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Comments: 9
We should reflect more on our blessings, however humble they are, rather than the mounds of excess food, as you pointed out, Virginia.
I too grew up in less than wealthy circumstances and I remember being grateful for what we had to eat and that we could eat at all. There was this particular Thanksgiving that we had little and someone gave my mom a duck that they had caught or shot ( I don't know which). But it was a duck with "feathers". And our job as the kids was to pluck the feathers off of the duck and to burn off the little feathers that were still left. This was quite an affair. We then watched mom cook the duck and it was delicious, but I did feel a little strange about eating something that I had just seen "clothed with feathers" the day before.
I, like you, remember the simple times of family and fellowship and thanking God that there was food (duck) to place on the table and that there was a family with whom to share the food. These were good times...
It is good for us to reminisce and remember from whence we have come so that we do not come to the erroneous conclusion that the "good life" is promised to all who merely desire it. God's blessings are at times grandiose and at times they are simplistic, but there are there just the same.
Thanks for writing this piece and causing me to reflect on the "good old days" where God provided for us in simplicity.
I have been guilty of this and vow to do better with the gifts that have been entrusted to me. These being life, health, intellect, writing, family, friends, liberty...
They each make very good points!